Yet when
Jesus had been born in Bethlehem of the Judeans, in the days of Herod the king,
Magi from the east arrived into Jerusalem

γεννηθέντος
APPart gsm, γεννάωto beget, of the father; to bring forth, of the mother. (a)
passive be born.

παρεγένοντο
AMI 3p, παραγίνομαι(γίνομαιwithπαράbeside, prefixed)
to become near, to become present, that is to say to come, to approach, to
arrive.

1.
The conjunction δὲ is common in the Gospels, and used differently,
depending on the context. It can mean “and,” but καὶ is more typically
used for that. I can be “but,” but ἀλλά is stronger and more typically used to
introduce a strong antithesis. Sometimes it seems to be connective tissue from
one scene to the next, warranting “then,” as its translation. I tend to use
“yet,” which is – to me – equally ambiguous in English. I see it as introducing
something different, maybe but not necessarily something oppositional to what
has been said before. (Geez, I feel like Derrida here!) One concordance says
that it can introduce ‘concealed antithesis,’ as opposed to absolute
antithesis. I think that is often true.

2.
The interesting thing about this story beginning with the word δὲ is that
it is connected to the end of chapter 1, when Jesus is born. The timing of the
star’s appearance (see below) suggests that this arrival could be as much as 2
years after the birth of Jesus, but the connection between c.1 and c.2, as well
as the present tense for “is being born” (see v.4 below) makes a strong
argument for keeping this story as part of the birth narrative and not as a
separate infancy narrative.

3.
The adjective, ἀνατολή, is typically translated “of the east” (here, with the
preposition ‘from’). However, ἀνατολή can also be interpreted “at the rising,”
since in a geocentric world, the east is the direction from which the sun (and
perhaps the stars) were observed to “rise.” That is why ἀνατολή is usually
“east” in v.1, but can be translated “in its rising” in v.2 and passim.

2 λέγοντες, ΠοῦἐστινὁτεχθεὶςβασιλεὺςτῶνἸουδαίων;εἴδομενγὰραὐτοῦ

τὸνἀστέραἐντῇἀνατολῇκαὶἤλθομενπροσκυνῆσαιαὐτῷ.

Saying,
“Where is the child King of the Jews?
For we have seen his star in the east/ its rising and we have come to
worship him.

προσκυνῆσαι
PAInf, προσκυνέωworship
to
crouch, crawl, or fawn, like a dog at his master's feet; hence, to prostrate
one's self, after the eastern custom, to do reverence or homage to any one, by
kneeling or prostrating one's self before him;

3 ἀκούσαςδὲὁβασιλεὺςἩρῴδηςἐταράχθηκαὶπᾶσαἹεροσόλυμαμετ'

αὐτοῦ,

Yet having
heard, the King Herod was disturbed and all of Jerusalem with him,

ἀκούσας
AAPart nsm, ἀκούω, 1) to be endowed with the faculty of hearing, not deaf

ἐταράχθη
API 3s, ταράσσωtrouble, to stir up, to agitate, as water in a pool; of the mind, to stir
up, trouble, disturb with various emotions.

1. “And all of Jerusalem with
him.” What a disturbing indictment from Matthew. As the story will clearly
imply, there was warrant for faithful Jews to understand this astral sign as
corresponding with the promises of their own scriptural tradition. (More on
that later.) By adding this phrase, “and all of Jerusalem with him,” Matthew is
showing how deeply the city of Jerusalem had cast its lot with the Roman
Empire, as represented by Herod.

4 καὶσυναγαγὼν πάνταςτοὺςἀρχιερεῖςκαὶγραμματεῖςτοῦλαοῦ

ἐπυνθάνετοπαρ'αὐτῶν ποῦὁΧριστὸςγεννᾶται.

And having
gathered all of the chief priests and scribes of the people, he was inquiring
from them where the Christ is being born.

ἐπυνθάνετο
IMI 3s, πυνθάνομαι1.ask to ask
for information, to inquire; to learn by asking or inquiry; to hear, learn,
understand.2.demand –ed to ask, enquire, learn by asking or inquiring, to ask for
information.

γεννᾶται
PPI 3s, γεννάω1.born (be) to beget, of the father; to bring forth, of the mother. (a)
passive be born.

1.
The verb, γεννᾶται, is a present passive indicative. Most translations make it
subjunctive (“would/might/could/should be born”) or – in one case – a present
form of ‘to be’ with an infinite (“is to be born”).

2.
This is a great turn in this story. Hearing that a “child king of the Jews” is
being born, Herod inquires among the religious scholars where the Christ is
being born. It is Herod, in this story, who makes the connection between a
child king and the Christ.

3.
Herod inquires ‘where’ the child is being born from the chief priests and
scribes. He’ll consult the Magi in v.7 about ‘when.’

5οἱδὲεἶπαναὐτῷ,ἘνΒηθλέεμτῆςἸουδαίας:οὕτως γὰργέγραπταιδιὰτοῦ

προφήτου:

Yet they
said to him, “In Bethlehem of the Judeans; for as it has been written through
the prophet:

εἶπαν: AAI 3p, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak 1a) affirm over, maintain

γέγραπται: PerfPI 3s, γράφω, 1) to write,
with reference to the form of the letters

6 Καὶσύ,ΒηθλέεμγῆἸούδα,οὐδαμῶς ἐλαχίστηεἶἐντοῖςἡγεμόσινἸούδα:ἐκ

σοῦγὰρἐξελεύσεταιἡγούμενος,ὅστις ποιμανεῖτὸνλαόνμουτὸνἸσραήλ.

‘And you,
Bethlehem land of Judea, by
no means are you least among
the leaders of Judea; for out of you shall emerge one who leads, who shall
shepherd my people Israel.’”

εἶ: PAI 2s,εἰμί, 1) to be, to exist, to happen, to be present

ἐξελεύσεται: FMI
3s, ἐξέρχομαι, 1) to go or come forth of

ἡγούμενος
PMPart nsm, ἡγέομαι1.to
lead, that is to say to lead the way, go before, hence, to be a leader or
chief;

1.
The word “hegemon”, used as a noun and then a verb in this sentence, means
“leader” or “to lead.” Luke uses it when describing Roman leaders in his birth
narrative. It can carry the connotation of harsh, imposing leadership, but here
it is a hopeful form of leadership, like a shepherd, which was a much more
endearing understanding of leadership in Israel’s history.

2.
It is curious that only in the birth narratives does Bethlehem of Judea seem
significant to the story of Jesus. By the end of this chapter, he is
established as a child of Nazareth of Galilee, the identity that he will keep
throughout his life.

3.
The quote from Micah 5:2-5 is worth reading in its entirety and keeping in mind
throughout this story. One can only wonder how – if they knew this text – the
temple leadership could be included among that number of “all of Jerusalem” who
were disturbed with Herod.

But you, O Bethlehem of
Ephrathah,
who are one of the little clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to rule in Israel,
whose origin is from of old,
from ancient days.
Therefore he shall give them up until the time
when she who is in labour has brought forth;
then the rest of his kindred shall return
to the people of Israel.
And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great
to the ends of the earth;
and he shall be the one of peace.

7 ΤότεἩρῴδηςλάθρᾳκαλέσαςτοὺς μάγουςἠκρίβωσενπαρ'αὐτῶντὸν

χρόνοντοῦφαινομένουἀστέρος,

Then Herod, having
secretly called the Magi inquired diligently from them the time of the appearing
star,

ἠκρίβωσεν AAI 3s, ἀκριβόωenquire diligently to know or do anything accurately; to enquire accurately or
assiduously.

1.
Ah, secrecy, the dear old friend of tyranny. There you are.

2.
It is curious that Herod is inquiring diligently about the timing of the star. What we don’t know is whether the appearance of
the star marks the birth or portends the birth. Herod orders the slaughter of
children 2 and under, raising the question of the relationship between the
‘exact time’ that he extracted from the Magi and the slaughter that he orders.
The Magi’s journey from the east, the timing of the Magi leaving Herod and then
Herod realizing that they were not returning to him as ordered, etc., makes the
relationship between the star’s appearance and the birth hard to pin down.

ἀπαγγείλατέ
AAImpv 2p, ἀπαγγέλλω 1.tell, told to give intelligence, bring word from any person or place, to
relate, inform of, to tell what had occurred.

ἐλθὼν
AAPart nsm, ἔρχομαιto come or go, used of persons or of things. It denotes the act of
coming or going,

προσκυνήσω
AASubj 1s, προσκυνέωto crouch, crawl, or fawn, like a dog at his master's feet; hence,
to prostrate one's self, after the eastern custom, to do reverence or homage to
any one, by kneeling or prostrating one's self before him

1.
There is an interesting interplay between the verbs and participles in this
verse. Many translations simply fold the participle into the verb that follows,
making “having gone, inquire” into “go and inquire,” or “having come may
worship” into “may come and worship.” I would appreciate hearing from someone
about the relationship between participles and verbs.

2.
The word ἀκριβῶς reappears in this verse from v.7. There, it was a verb;
here it is an adjective, “diligently.” The next time I hear someone use the
phrase “due diligence,” I’m going to mutter under my breath, “Herod!”

9οἱδὲἀκούσαντεςτοῦβασιλέωςἐπορεύθησαν,καὶἰδοὺὁ ἀστὴρὃνεἶδον

ἐντῇἀνατολῇπροῆγεναὐτοὺςἕωςἐλθὼνἐστάθηἐπάνωοὗ ἦντὸπαιδίον.

Yet having heard
the King, they went and behold the star which they saw in the east/its rising was
leading them, having gone until it stood still over where the child was.

ἀκούσαντες
AAPart nmp, ἀκούωto hear, intransitive, to have the faculty of hearing;

ἐπορεύθησαν
API 3p, πορεύωto cause to pass over by land or water transport. In NT only
passive, to transport one's self, that is to say, pass from one place to
another, to pass, to go

ἐλθὼν
AAPart nms, ἔρχομαιto come or go, used of persons or of things. It denotes the act of
coming or going

ἐστάθη
API 3s, ἵστημι(a) transitive, in the present, imperative and Aorist 1 of the
active, to cause to stand, to set, to place; (b) Aorist and future passive, and
future middle; and (c) intransitive, perfect, pluperfect, and Aorist 2, to
stand, as opposite to falling; stand fast, stand still.

ἦν: IAI 3s, εἰμί, 1) to be, to exist, to happen, to be present

1.
Perhaps it is just me, but here is a wonderful conjunction between Herod’s
instruction to go to Bethlehem, which he had learned from the chief priests and
scribes via the prophet Micah, and the star, which is not a typical player in
Jewish or Christian piety. See my article below on how I see this text as
potentially a place for conversation between people of faith and others.

10 ἰδόντεςδὲτὸνἀστέραἐχάρησανχαρὰνμεγάληνσφόδρα.

Yet having
seen the star they were overjoyed [with] exceedingly great joy.

ἰδόντες AAPart npm, ὁράω, 1) to see with the eyes

ἐχάρησαν
API 3p, χαίρωto rejoice, be delighted or pleased, to be glad.

1. The verb ἐχάρησαν
is passive. Some translations make it active, “they rejoiced.”

And having
come into the house and they saw the child with Mary his mother, and having
fallen down they worshipped him, and having opened their treasures presented to
him gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

ἐλθόντες
AAPart npm, ἔρχομαι to come or go, used of persons or of things. It
denotes the act of coming or going

εἶδον : AAI 3p, ὁράω, 1) to see with the eyes

πεσόντες
AAPart npm, πίπτωto fall, as from a higher to a lower place, fall down

προσήνεγκαν
AAI 3p, προσφέρωto bear or bring to or towards any place or person, bring near to;
hence, to offer, present.

1.
Again, the interplay between participles and verbs in this verse are consistent
– aorist active participles, followed by aorist verbs .

12καὶ χρηματισθέντεςκατ'ὄναρμὴἀνακάμψαιπρὸςἩρῴδην,δι'ἄλλης

ὁδοῦ ἀνεχώρησανεἰςτὴνχώραναὐτῶν.

And having
been ordered according to a dream not to go back to Herod, by another way they
returned into their own country.

χρηματισθέντες
APPart nmp, to do or carry on business, have dealings, especially in
money matters, to negotiate, transact business; of kings and magistrates, to do
business publicly, that is to give audience and answer as to ambassadors or
petitioners, to give response or decision. Then, spoken of a divine response,
to give response, to speak as an oracle, speak or warn from God

IT IS DIFFICULT TO READ THE STORY OF THE MAGI'S visit to
the Christ child without picturing nervous children in sequined costumes and
large headdresses carrying gifts of faux gold, frankincense, and myrrh,
and pretending to be oriental sages. In a more surreal fashion, it is hard for
me to read this story without picturing the adult members of the Monty Python
troop pretending to be children pretending to be oriental sages. Nonetheless,
underneath the layers of carols, pageants, folklore, and costumes, the story of
the magi is ultimately a tragic story of ruthless power and infanticide that is
part of the context of the incarnation. What is often lost in both the cuteness
and the tragedy of this story is the simple fact that Matthew has these
visitors finding the Christ child by way of astrology! As the first speaking humans
in Matthew's gospel, the magi ask, "Where is the child who has been born
king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising and have come to pay
him homage" (v. 2). This unusual route from the stars to the Christ is
unique to this story in Matthew and quite unexpected, given the numerous
occasions in the Hebrew Bible where astral cults are strongly condemned. Even
the creation story of the first chapter of Genesis can be read as a defiant
myth of God's sovereignty, embraced by the oppressed Hebrews against the astral
cults of their Babylonian oppressors. And yet here are Matthew's astrologists
looking to the stars and finding the Christ.

The audacity of Matthew's story makes the visit of
the magi, among other things, an excellent occasion for considering possibilities
for evangelism in a time of heightened interest in alternative spirituality. It
seems that the church's automatic response to alternative spirituality is
reactionary, vacillating between feeling threatened by Christianity's loss of
assumed authority and a determination to refute such deceptions with "the
truth." Matthew's story of the magi gives the church an occasion to resist
those impulsive reactions and to consider the possibility that one might come
to faith in Jesus Christ through means that are, in themselves, insufficient.
It is hard to imagine that Matthew could have included this portion of the
story of Christ without some feeling that God is able to work in and through a
very alien form of faith.

While the story of the magi is a familiar one for
church attendees, the precise meaning of the story is difficult to pinpoint.
Partly because of the "cameo" nature of the magi's appearance, there
is considerable confusion regarding who they are. The KJV translation of magoi
as "wise men" has made an indelible mark on the English-speaking
consciousness, but seems to avoid some of the more obvious but troubling
possibilities, such as the cognate "magicians." The 1857 hymn by John
Henry Hopkins, Jr., "We Three Kings of Orient Are," makes the
hermeneutical connection between the magi and the declarations from Isaiah that
"[n]ations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your
dawn" (Isa 60:3). It is a connection that Matthew, at best, makes subtly
with the reference to gold and frankincense, which are also mentioned in the
passage from Isaiah (60:6). Nonetheless, it is a tenuous reference, especially
from a gospel writer who repeatedly introduces Hebrew Bible connections with
the phrase "as it is written." Given the plot of the story, with its
emphasis on the appearance and significance of a star, the most obvious
identification of the magi would seem to be that they were astrologers. It
might be, however, that such a blatant pagan identification is too much to bear
for some translators.

Beyond the issue of astrology, commentators do not
agree on whether the magi were Gentiles. Eugene Boring says, "The magi are
Gentiles in the extreme, characters who could not be more remote from the
Jewish citizens of Jerusalem
in heritage and worldview" (E. Boring, Matthew, NIB, vol. VIII
[Nashville: Abingdon, 1995] 145). Douglas Hare agrees, drawing his conclusion
based on the origin, occupation, and question of the magi (D. Hare, Matthew,
IBC [Louisville: John Knox, 1993] 13). However, W. F. Albright and C. S.
Mann argue that there is "no indication in the story that we were meant to
identify the magi as Gentiles" (W. E Albright and C. S. Mann, Matthew, AB
26 [Garden City: Doubleday, 1971] 16).

Likewise, there is a little agreement on how to
understand the personae of the magi. Eduard Schweizer argues, "As in
1:18-25, we have here a stratum of tradition that emphasized the parallels
between Moses and Jesus" (E. Schweizer, The Good News According to
Matthew [Atlanta: John Knox, 1975] 36). For Schweizer, Herod is a pharaoh
figure, Jesus is a Moses figure, and the magi represent the nations that are
now part of the exodus story. Albright and Mann, however, dispute that
interpretation entirely: "What seems to us to be wholly inadmissible is
the suggestion that Matthew was so anxious to represent Jesus as the new Moses
... that the evangelist has constructed an allegory which includes Gentiles
(the magi)" (Albright and Mann, Matthew, 15).

The plain reading of this story is that the magi
found the Christ by way of a star. With that simple story line, Matthew makes
one declaration clearly and leaves another set of questions unanswered. The
child Jesus is the one who is born king of the Jews. How that kingship is
inaugurated and exercised is answered in the next twenty-seven chapters, but
this initial story proclaims the message of Jesus as the promised one. What is
not answered, either in this story or in the next twenty-seven chapters, is
whether the magi, as a result of finding the Christ, forsook their astrology.
What is not answered is whether astrology is true, whether it has a "point
of contact" with the Christian faith, or whether it is simply the devil's
tool of deception. In this sense, Matthew's epiphany story is instructive for
the church's call to evangelism. It raises the possibility that alternative
spirituality can be one means of arriving at the Christ, without having to
answer the larger questions of the ultimate truth or falsity of alternative
spirituality. What Matthew's story suggests, in what it says and leaves unsaid,
is that such penultimate questions might be left at rest in the activity of evangelism. They might be appropriate for
another occasion, but need not be answered definitively in the activity of
coming to faith. Eugene Boring summarizes Matthew's point nicely:

Even this
"most Jewish" of the Gospels is aware, from its first page onward,
that it is not necessary first to have the biblical and Jewish hope, before one
can come to the Messiah and accept him as Lord. In following the light they
have, the magi find the goal of their quest in bowing before the Jewish
Messiah. The task of the church is often to discern the ultimate quest that is
expressed in non-biblical and non-theistic ways in contemporary life, and
continue Matthew's witness that the yearnings even of those who do not know
fully what they seek are met in the act of God at Bethlehem. "The hopes and fears of all
the years...." (Boring, Matthew, 144)

5 comments:

If you haven't watched The Star of Bethlehem, I highly recommend it to you. It's a very interesting movie detailing a man's research into what the Star of Bethlehem was. He breaks down the "astology is bad" myth as well.

BTW...Your comment about Herod being the one who calls the child Christ got me thinking. Herod, being Jewish (of sorts) could have been somewhat versed in Hebrew scripture and understood the waiting for Messiah. This explains why Herod was so fearful of a child(besides his paranoia)...Herod wasn't prepared for God to break into his world and upset his hold on power. And if foreigners recognized someone else as King of the Jews it would mean trouble for Rome (if Herod believed Hebrew Scripture). This makes me ask...how many Herods are in the Church?You tend to raise an interesting issues for me as I prepare sermons....THANKS!

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This blog is a weekly translation of a text from the Revised Common Lectionary.It is my rough translation in bold with some initial comments in blue, all of which are subject to change as we journey together. That's why I welcome your comments.